The Los Angeles Lakers will need Anthony Davis to be as healthy as possible if they want to close out the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.
The Los Angeles Lakers seemed like they were going to breeze to an NBA championship just a few games ago. Up 2-0, everything looked to be turning up purple and gold for LeBron James and Anthony Davis’s squad. The Miami Heat were beset by injuries, losing Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo, and the NBA Finals appeared to be a historic mismatch, a series that could end in such anticlimactic fashion that it could almost undermine the whole NBA bubble experience.
Then Jimmy Butler happened in Game 3. He scored 40 points, adding 13 assists, 11 rebounds, two blocks and two steals in a Heat win, and then Adebayo returned for Game 4. The Lakers won that game, but by only a six-point margin, and suddenly we were reminded of the iron resolve this Miami Heat squad possesses.
In Game 5, the Heat overcame a vintage closeout 40-point game from LeBron James to win 111-108 and extend the series once again, and things get more complicated for the Los Angeles Lakers. While Dragic is not likely to return in this series, the Heat just keep pushing the Lakers and forcing this series to run longer, and the Lakers have their own injury problems to be aware of at this late stage in the season.
Anthony Davis has been battling a heel contusion throughout the NBA Finals, and it was exacerbated in Game 5 when Andre Iguodala inadvertently stepped on it late in the fourth quarter, further aggravating it. Davis said after the game that he’ll be fine on Sunday, when they’ll play Game 6, and Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said this about the injury:
"“He’s just battling through the heel. He was struggling to move a little bit but toughed it out, and we’ll see how he feels tomorrow.”"
Davis has been absolutely spectacular in the NBA playoffs so far. He’s averaging 28.2 points and 9.5 rebounds while shooting 57.9 percent from the floor and 40.4 percent from 3-point range. In the Finals, he’s been even more efficient, scoring 26.2 points per game while shooting 60.5 percent from the floor and 50.0 percent from long range, all while making 25-of-25 from the free throw line.
His presence has been essential to the Los Angeles Lakers in the postseason, and losing or reducing his services would be a critical blow if his load needs to be reduced in Game 6 or a potential Game 7. Davis has already taken massive steps towards rewriting a narrative that he was injury-prone and unable or unwilling to play through injuries in this playoff run.
With the New Orleans Pelicans, there always seemed to be bumps and bruises and nagging injuries that he couldn’t or wouldn’t play through, but he’s willing to grind through it for a team he believes in and can win a championship with. He’ll play, but we’re going to have to wait and see how much this injured heel will hamper him on the floor.
The Miami Heat just withstood a massive onslaught from LeBron James in Game 5, and Davis added 28 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocks as well. The Los Angeles Lakers are going to need no less from him in Game 6 if they want to close out the NBA Finals and win this championship in the Orlando bubble.